UPDATE:10:20 a.m. PST: Inside Kevin Brown's bag, "federal agents found two bottles filled with nitro-methane, a highly explosive liquid," according to Orlando news station WESH-2. And according to an affidavit, Brown told the FBI he wanted to build pipe bombs like he built in Iraq. The FBI has not yet determined if Brown ever served in Iraq. But soldiers don't build pipe bombs, insurgents do. 

Who is Kevin Brown and what was he doing with what appears to be a pipe bomb in the making at Orlando International Airport yesterday?

Federal behavioral specialists spotted Kevin Brown acting suspiciously around noon in the ticketing area.

A search of his luggage revealed two galvanized pipes, end caps, two small containers carrying BBs, batteries, two containers with an unknown liquid, and bomb making literature, according to an FBI statement.

Brown, a Jamaican national, planned to board a flight to Jamaica. It wasn't immediately what the FBI charged him with. A voicemail for an FBI spokesman was full.

This morning, U.S. attorneys asked a federal judge for more time to prepare for Brown's hearing, originally scheduled for Thursday.

CNN reports that Brown has been living in the U.S. with a valid green card. He is currently being held by federal authorities without bond. 

TSA agents spotted the man acting suspiciously and put him under surveillance, according to the TSA's largely unreliable blog.

This is not the first time Orlando Airport has been in the aviation security news. In September 2007, a large group of Middle Eastern passengers set off mechanical alarms and alerted a canine unit after their personal items allegedly tested positive for SEMTEX explosives. TSA confirmed the incident with me in an interview, but would not confirm the explosive material. The passengers were later cleared to fly.

In March 2007, two Comair airline employees at the Orlando Airport were arrested after using their airport security badges to smuggle weapons and drugs onto a passenger flight headed for San Juan, Puerto Rico. The weapons and drugs amounted to 13 guns, an assault rifle and 8 pounds of marijuana transported in a carry-on duffel bag. As a result of this security gap being exposed, the TSA is now running a pilot program, out of Logan Airport in Boston, to screen all airport employees. 

(photo credit: Associated Press) 

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